MPS split meter charge between finance company and customer using Machine Charge Group
Overview
You can have finance contracts for machines where the finance company provides the machine, the customer uses the machine and the finance company pays copy costs up to an agreed value each month. The customer then pays the overs in any month where the customers usage in the month exceeds the agreed maximum monthly usage to be charged to the finance company. Invoicing for the month is split between the finance company and the customer:
- The customer gets a "overs" invoice for the over usage, only if the customer exceeds the agreed maximum usage for the month
- The finance company always gets an invoice for any usage charged less than or up to the maximum usage for the month.
Worked example
Each month a set volume of usage is charged to a Finance Company for a range of machines. At the end of each quarter we charge for any usage over the agreed volume not to the Finance Company but to the End User (customer).
The "Machine Charge Group" feature would be used to implemented this.
Carried Forward Variance is reset at the start of a new cycle.
Procedure for setup
Count Cycles
The count cycle is used to group together all Finance MPS machines.
It also allows you to count them together and invoice them together if convenient. This is not strictly required, but this practice does make your machine data tidier and easier to work with.
- Go to Administration>Count Cycles
- Click on New
- Cycle ID = MPS (or create a count cycle = MPS if it does not exist with maybe the Finance company name along side)
- Name = Manage Print Services
- RecurMonthly = Ticked
- Day of Month = select any day
- Click on SAVE
This count cycle needs to be assigned to the Total Meter/All meters for the Machines to be charged to any Finance company
Product Category
If you don't have a non stock product category for type such as Service or Meter counts etc, then set one up.
If you need to see a separate general ledger account breakup and costing method etc when charging to MPS then follow the link Product Categories
Ensure to check the costing method on the Non Stock Product Category and the Products on this category as the setting may vary between products
Product to stand for MPS when charging
You should set up a product to stand for Monthly Finance charge eg MPSFIN (MPS Plan Min Charge to Finance)
Assign this product to each machine that is part of the MPS cycle on the Total Meter
Assign this product to the Machine Charge Group.
Ensure to select the correct non stock product category for this MPS product with the correct costing method on that category when setting it up
Optional: Products for Excess Usage for meters
It is optional, but you may wish to setup products to identify the 'overusage' to be charged on the invoice for the customer at the end of the cycle for all other meters on the machines.
If you choose to set up a product, then ensure you assign this product to each appropriate meter on each machine on the MPS cycle (eg black meter or colour meter etc but not the total meter)
Eg you can set up a product called 'MonoExcessUsuage'
Product name = 'Charges for excess usage Mono'
Assign this product to the Machines for the MPS cycle for the mono meter as the print charge.
Ensure to select the correct non stock product category for this MPS product with the correct costing method on that category
Then set up another product eg 'ColourExcessUsage'
Product name = 'Charges for excess usage Colour'
Assign this product to the machines for MPS cycle for the colour meter print charge.
The products will appear on the invoices, so we want the product code and name to clearly indicate that this product relates to over limit charges to do with a machine finance agreement.
If you have more than one product on a meter then set up a product code for every meter to stand for the excess usage.
Setting up machines for Machine Charge Group
- Create or select an existing machine to be split charged
Review machine details to ensure the set-up is complete
Ensure that all machine meters have the count cycle = MPSFIN (or whatever the count cycle has been named)
Ensure that on the Total Meter, charge product is the product that you have set up to stand for the MPS Charging
Ensure that all other meters have the correct charge product. EG if you have set up a charge product for 'MonoExcessUsuage' then assign this productid to the Charge Product on the Mono Meter and so on.
Ensure that the next var charge period on the machine/meters is correct and lines up with the Machine charge group period
Ensure all meter pricing has been set up correctly.
Split charged machine should be set-up similar to any other non-split-charged.
Customer Card Settings
For each customer that has a machine to be charged to the finance company ensure that the checkbox below is set up on the customers card.
For the customers card that stands for the finance company, the flag is not turned off.
On the Card>Settings>Customer Settings>Customer Reports> turn the 
box on to ensure the invoice details are presented by machines for customer who linked to more than 1 machines
This will result in One Meter Charge Invoice for each machine within that charge group.
If the checkbox is OFF, you may get one Meter charge invoice with a list of more than once machines based upon the settings on the machine address and machine invoice address. See link to Managing Machine Addresses and Machine Invoice Address
You must have a card setup for both customer and for each finance company before you try to create a machine charge group.
Setting up Machine Charge Group
- Navigation>Administration>Machine Charge Group
- Click
to create a new machine charge group - Enter Name. Usually the name of the Finance company or preferable the Customer
- Enter Start Period to specify the starting period that the split charge is effective
- Set Customer to the machines customer card-id
- Set Financed By to the finance company card-id
- Enter Cycle to specify number month to charge any exceeded charge to the end customer e.g., 3 for quarterly. Cycle is normally 1 which means you charge the over usage every month.
- Enter Limit (this is ex gst value) to specify the monthly charge limit to the "finance company" e.g., $1000.00
- Enter Charge Product to be the product used when charging the Finance Company
- Click
to add a machine to the charge group (you will only see a list of machines that are linked to the customer)
Click 
or Save and Close to save the change
Setting up Meter Count Run Sets
- Readysell>Administration>Run Sets>Meter Count Run Set
- Click on New
- Insert a name = MPS Finance
- Meter Count Run Cyle = MPS Finance (depends what you called the cycle)
- No need for a filter however you can specify machineid if you like
Click on Save and Close
Machine Charge Group Notes
You should set up a product to stand for Monthly Finance charge eg MPSFIN (MPS Plan Min Charge to Finance) and assign this product to each machine that is part of the MPS cycle on the Total Meter and then also assign this product to the Machine Charge Group.
It is optional, but you may wish to setup products to identify the overusage to be charged on the invoice for the customer at the end of the cycle.
If you choose to set up a product, then ensure you assign this product to each appropriate meter on each machine on the MPS cycle (eg black meter or colour meter etc but not the total meter)
Eg you can set up a product called 'MonoOverUsuage' Product name = 'Charges for over usage on Mono' and assign this product to the Machines for the MPS cycle for the mono meter print charge.
Then set up another product eg 'ColourOverUsage' Product name = Charges for over usage on Colour' and assign this product to the machines for MPS cycle for the colour meter print charge.
The product appears on the invoices, so we want the product code and name to clearly indicate this product relates to over limit charges to do with a machine finance agreement.
When extracting a meter charge run, you don't actually see the charges to the Finance company until you click on Finalise and/or Complete after clicking on Preparing Shipments.
Irespectively, each month based upon the value in the cycle field, a invoice is generated from the meter charge run to the Finance company. So the finance company will always receive a monthly invoice for only the actual usage to the limit.
So if the value exceeds the limit for that month, the finance company will get charged the value of the limit.
If the sum of all the values are less that the total sum of the limit, then no variance invoice is greater.
If the sum of all the values is greater than the sum of the limits, then a variance invoice is created and charged to the customer.
The meter charge run also creates a invoice to stand for each customer/machine on the MPS machine charge group but the status on these invoices are flagged as Cancelled with a zero value.
See example screen shots below:
Not until the last cycle of the meter charge run for a charge group, will the customer be charged only if there is an over usage
Firstly ensure the Start Period is the correct period on the machine charge group.
Then check each total meter on each machine within the charge group for the following two fields ' next min charge run period' & 'next var charge run period' , these two fields must be the same as the period that is on the machine charge group
Machine Charge Group represents a contract between a customer and finance company and that contract is made up of a number of machines.
Machine charge group helps you group together machines that are going to be charged to the same finance company. You may have just one machine in the contract, in which case you probably dont need a machine charge group. But such deals can get complex and can involve many machines.
The machine charge group gives you a finer level of control over charging than you would have if you just dealt with each machine individually.
Based upon the value of the field of 'Cycle' on the machine charge group, is what determines when the finance company is charged the minimum value and when the customer is then charged for the over usage.
Eg if the value on the field 'cycle' on a machine charge group reads 3, then the finance company will be charged for the first two months the minimum charge that is set onto that machine charge group.
On the third meter charge run (quarterly) the customer will be charged for the variance between the meter readings and the minimum charge set on the machine charge group. The finance company will also be charged for the minimum for that 3rd month.
The 'Value' field is the Ex Gst Value.
When doing a meter charge run, the MPS finance company will always be charged for each period however the customer will not be charged until the last period of the cycle.
When doing the first meter charge run, the shipments generated for the customer will have a status of Cancelled and the Finance company will get charged the limit and the shipment and invoice will be generated to the Finance company only.
Then once the period that is set on the cycle of the machine charge group is met, the customer will get charged the Variance between the Limit and the real usage.
On the Machine Charge Group Charges tab in Machine charge group is recorded the list of meter charges with the period, value, limit ex tax etc.
Adding and Removing Machines from Machine Charge Groups
- Identify the machine that needs to be remove or added
- Go to Service>Machines
- Search and highlight the machine to be added or removed from the machine group
- In the detail area, right click, select customize layout and populate into the detail area the field of 'Machine Group'
- Still on the machine, if you wish to remove the machine group from this machine, click on the X in the field Machine group
- If you wish to add a machine group to this machine, drop the selection from the field 'Machine group' and select
- Click on Save
Test Meter count run
Now that you have set up your first machine charge group you need to run a test meter count run to make sure the results are correct.
Readysell recommends waiting till the next day until your set up has been copied over to test which is done via an overnight task that runs nightly.
Then proceed with a test run.
Check the results thoroughly.
Repeat your tests until you are happy with the results then go ahead in the live database.
Conduct and Post a Meter Count Run for count cycle MPS
Test Meter charge run
Conduct and Post a Meter Charge Run for count cycle MPS
Example with the sum of all the usage valueex is less than the sum of the limit value for that period
Period 201905 first charge run
First meter charge run shipment finalised only period 201905.
The Finalise company will always be charged the value set on the limit field on the meter charge group for the machines within the group
The shipments for the each machine for each customer on that machine group will be flagged as cancelled until the cycle period is met.
Completed the meter charge run for the first period 201905 and the finance company invoice is generated
Machine Charge Group updated with meter charge run invoice number etc
The field = Value is the total sum of the value of the meters charged on that meter charge run for that period ex gst.
Second period 201906 meter count conducted and charged
Third period 201907 meter count conducted and charged
The sum of the overall usage (value ex) for the 3 month period was less that sum of the limit value ex
So the customer will not get charged any excess
Where the sum of the valueex for that cycle is greater than the sum of the valueex on the limit
If the sum of the overall usages (value ex) for the 3 month period was greater than the sum of the limit valueex then the customer will get charged the usage on the last cycle and the finance company will get charged the limit that period also
Observe the invoice produced where the finance company is charged up to the limit specified in the machine charge group
Any amount exceeded the limit would be charged to the end customer
It is good practice to run this set-up through your test system to verify that it meets your requirement before running it live.